Photo: Ministère de la Défense française

French soldiers board an army plane.

A French soldier has been killed in the far north of Mali, bringing to six the number of French soldiers killed since the start of the French-led military intervention in January.

Corporal Stéphane Duval, 32, was killed on Monday afternoon by an improvised bomb between Boughessa, in the Adrar des Ifoghas mountain range in Mali, and Tim Zaouaten in Algeria, according to the French Defence Minister.

Two other soldiers were seriously wounded in the explosion and have been taken to Tessalit.

Corporal Duval was from the 1st Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment in the French Army's Special Forces Brigade.

French President Francois Hollande sent his condolences to the soldier's family and hailed "the determination and courage of the French forces engaged in Mali alongside Malian and (other) African forces".

France launched a military intervention in January to quash Al-Qaeda-linked groups that had taken control of northern Mali.

France has begun withdrawing its 4,500 troops deployed in Mali and handing over the reins to a 6,300-strong force, the International Mission for Support to Mali (MISMA).